Tape

Tape
Unassuming,
Thin,
Quiet,
Smudged between two conflicting surfaces.
That's my place.
I'm to be invisible, opinionless,
Transparent, if possible
As to not reveal the misalignments,
The conflicts, the disagreements,
Pressing into my sides.
I can feel both of the pieces.
Hear the bickering, taste the resentment
They have toward each other.
I'm to make them get along
Pull them together
But they are stubborn, obstinate
One smooth, the other rough
Polar opposites forced into
A narrow spectrum.

I try to help
To be flexible
And hope that through me
They can see across their differences.
But it's not that easy.
They keep pulling
Until I lose my grip
On both of them.
And I leave, floating gently away
In a downward spiral
Unnoticed.
And when it all falls apart,
It's my fault.
For not holding them together
Nobody wants to see me,
To hear me,
To listen to me
But that's who I am.
The compromiser
The mediator
The tape.